The HMS Bounty crew member whose body was found off the coast of North Carolina has been confirmed dead.

The replica tall ship was sunk by former hurricane, now Post-Tropical Cyclone Sandy, with 14 people rescued by the US Coast Guard off the coast of North Carolina.

Nightmare scenario ... A crewman from the replica tall ship HMS Bounty is aided in the water by a member of the US Coast Guard as passengers and crew shelter in a life raft in the Atlantic Ocean off North Carolina. The ship was sunk in high seas brought by Hurricane Sandy. Photo: Reuters

The captain of the ship is still missing.

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Crew member Claudene Christian was found ‘‘unresponsive’’ at sea and taken to hospital amid a dramatic rescue operation in wild Atlantic Ocean swells whipped up by the storm.

The 42-year-old was located by an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter and her body was taken to Albemarle Hospital in Elizabeth City.